Shipping Stocks: Reality Check

The afterglow from Thursday's rally in the shipping sector fades.

The afterglow from Thursday's rally in the shipping sector began to fade Friday as the Baltic Dry Index fell for the fourth straight week.

The index ended its session at 1,538 points, well below its year high of nearly 2,300 points. According to the Hellenic Shipping News, the average time charter daily rates for capsize vessels was $17,453, nearly half what they were six weeks ago. And, supramax charter rates are outpacing those for the larger panamax vessels, with average time charters rates of $13,072 and $9,881, respectively.

Also potentially affecting stocks are data from the Cass Freight Index that show a 22% decline in U.S. industrial shipments in March from the same month in 2008, as reported in the Journal of Commerce. Shipments declined 3.5% from February to March, and freight transportation spending dropped 2.1% sequentially and 23.8% from March 2008, according to the Journal.